Foldable closure



July 31, 1923. 1,463,346

F. G. WALKER FOLDABLE -CLOSURE Filed April 14, 1919 6 Sheets-Sheet l Lteil! Jmy Eil, E923 F. G WALKER FOLDABLE cLosURE Filed April 14, 1919 6 Sheetsmsheet 2 July 3l, 1923.

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F. G. WALKER FOLDABLE cLosURE:

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FREDERICK G. WALKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDABLE CLOSURE.

Application led April 14, 1919. Serial No. 289,839.

T o all whom, t my concern: v

Be it known that l, FREDERICK G. vWALKnIi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Foldable Closures, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a art-of this specification.

y inventionrelates to improvements in buildings, and has special reference to means for eecting the o ning and closing of openings in the wallse of buildings, such as door and window openings and openings effecting, communication with auditoriums, churches, halls, club-rooms, etc.

The object of my invention is to provide a foldable closure for such an opening, which shall be capable of being easily manipulated, viz, o ned and closed.; which shall be capable o being built of any desired width; the several leaves or parts of which shall be retained in true vertical position; and which can be built and installed at a relatively low cost.

A further object of my invention is to' provide a bellows or accordion style of closure which shall have leaves or parts of uniform width, the alternate hinged edges whereof shall be supportedand guided in opening and closing by suitable movable posts; and which can be arranged to provide weather tight closures at the bottom, top and sides of the opening, if desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wide door for garages and the like which shall open outward but which shall befree of any guide rails, pulleys or other mechanisms which are exposed to the weather or arranged on the outside of the building.

Many inventors have attempted to solve the roblem of providing a closure for a relatively wide opening and many structures have been produced, but each form carries with it some detrimental features, such as a half width leaf at the wall end of the series, or the impossibility of providing a weatherprootl closure or sealat the bottom andthe top of the opening, or the necessity of providing tracks and pulleys or otherapparatus more or less exposed to the weather.

By means of my invention I am not only enabled to eliminate all of the above detrimental features, but I am also enabled to produce a closure for any desired width ofl opening lwhich can be folded .to occupy a minlmum of space, when open, and which can be built at a relatively low cost.

For a clear understanding of my invention, attention is directed to said drawings, 1n which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary inside elevation of a closure embodying my invention in one form and particularly adapted for garage doors and the like;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2--2 ofv Figure 1; one half of the closure shown partly open;

Figure 3is a fragmentary section similar to Figure 2 showing one portion partly opened, in dotted lines;

Flgure 4 is a fragmentary inner elevation of the supporting structure, the doors being removed; i

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, the doors being in place and opened;

F1 re 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing a modified form of post;

V Figure 8 is a detail isometric view of the upper guide shoe;

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail horizontal section of the post on the line 9-9 of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary detail horizontal section of the post and doors on the ling .l0- 10 of Figure 5; i

1 showing a trolley supported door adapted to swing inwardly; f

Figure 12 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 12-12 of Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a detail horizontal section on the line 13-13 of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary inside eleva-l tion similar toFigure 4; and showing a trolley supported door adapted to swing outwardly; y

Figure 15 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 15-15 of Figure 14, the doors not being shown;

Figure 16 is a fra entary inner elevational view similar to igure 1, but showing my invention embodied in a easement win- F i, re 17 is a fragmentary horizontal sectiona view substantially on the line 17-17 of Figure 16;

re 11 is a view similar to Figure 4 Figure 18 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing an enlarged inner elevation of the structure employed in the form shown in Figure 16;

Figure 19 is a. fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line 19-19 of Figure 18;

Figure 2O is a horizontal sectional view on the line 20-20 of Figure 19;

Figure 21 is a fragmentary isometric View of the upper end of the post shown in Figure 18, with the guide shoe attached;

Figure 22 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section of the post and sash, similar to Figure 20;

Figure 23 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to the lower part of Figure 19, and showing a slightly modified'structure;

Figure 2a is a fragmentary elevational section ysimilar to the lower part oic Figure 18 and showing a slightly modiied form, and,

Figure 25 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 25-25 of Figure 24.

As indicated by the number of diil'erent embodiments of my iiivention'shown in the drawings, my invention' is capable of being arranged to meet or fulfill practically any conditions which may arise.

Possibly the principal application is in providing doors for garages and the like. the doors arranged to swingoutwardly and adapted to make weather tight lioints at the bottom, top and sides o the doors. This form may include roller supports at the lower ends of the posts as shown in Figures l. and 2 or a trolley support at the top as shown in Figures 14,- and 15; these forms both provide for the swinging of the doors outwardly.

Under other requirements it may be necessary to swing the doors inwardly, and l hve illustrated this form in Figures 11 and 1 There is a demand for wide opening closures for use in connection with churches, schools, hotels and the like, and in` Figures 16 and 17 lf have illustrated my invention embodied in the form of a very wide easement window, capable of being openedy at a number of diierent points and of providing various sized openings up to substantially the full width orFA the main openingQj y invention is also capable of embodiment 1n the form or a folding partition for use vin` a building between rooms, and in Figures 22 and 23 l have shown an adaptadoorway to be closed, having jambe 2, a

lintel 3 and a lower edge or sill l.

Lassalle The openings to which ll apply my invention are preferabl f as shown relatively Wide openings which if closed by two separately hinged leaves, the leaves would be wider than convenient or practical to use.

ll provide a plurality of relatively narrow door leaves 5, 6 and 7 as shown4 in Figures 1 and 2, each long enough to extend from the bottom to the topl of the opening to be closed and hinged together at their meeting edges, so that when in closed position their combined width is suilicient to close halt of the doorway, and ll provide a similar set of leaves for closing the other half of the doorway.

The leaf 5 is hung at one edge by suitable hinges 8 to the adjacent side janib 2, and at its opposite edge is hingedly con# nected to the adjacent edge of the leaf 6 by suitable hinges 9 arranged at the inner side of the door so that these edges can swing freely outward. At or between the meeting edges of the leaves 6 and 7 is arranged a movable post 10 to which 'll hinge both leaves 6 and 7 by suitable hinges 11. ll prefer, as shown in Figures l to 6, to make this post of sheet metal, but obviously, as shown in Figure 7, it may also be made ot wood. y

The opposite edge 12 of the leaf 7 meets a similar free ed e of the leaf? of the opposite half oit the c osure as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and completes the closing of the opening, 1.

'lhe problem presented in this particular form of closure is to provide a weather tight closing of the door at the top and the bottom of the opening and 'provided with supporting parts which are not exposed to the weather.

'llievpost 10 and the hinged connection ol"` the leaf part 5 to the jamb 2 are the means which ll employ to support the door and permit the several'leaves to be 4opened as iiidicated in Figures 2 and 3, and to be folded clear back to one side as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. v y

The post 10 is `the guiding and controlling element in the opening and closing of the leaves 5, 6, and 7, and l arrange it to slide freely from its closed position as shown in Figure 1, to its open position, as shown at the'right hand of Figure 2 in dotted lines. For permitting the post to move easily and for guiding it at its lower-end, li' provide a i rail or track 13 on the floor and parallel with the plane of the opening to be closed, and l provide a groovedsupporting wheel 14 arranged to roll on this track and mounted on a suitable bearing pin 15, which is car ried by a strap 16 and the lower end 'of the post 10, so that as the doors are opened and closed the post will roll easily along parallel with the door opening.

To prevent the post lO'Swlnging out olf its true position with the plane of the wheel 14 parallel with the door opening, I provide erably make the a guide bracket or shoe 17 for the upper en of the post. I preferably extend the guide shoe 17 toward the inside of the openin so that it will not interfere with the ful opening of the door. This guide shoe comprises an angle member having a vertically depending art 18 adapted to b e bolted to the back of t e post 10 by bolts 19 and provided with vertically elongated holes 2O for receiving said bolts so as to ypermit the shoe to be adjusted vertically to properly engage its gulde. As shown in Figure 4 the horizontal part 21 of the shoe extendsito the right, and I form it with upwardly extending side flanges 22 at its free end, which are arranged to embrace a guide rail 23 secured to the lintel 3 parallel with the door opening. I provide a third vertically extending flange 24 on the shoe 17 at its base end which contacts with the rear face of the rail 23 and holds the post from tipping outwardly. As shown, IV form the ends of the several guide flanges flared outwardly so as to present smooth bearing surfacesto the guide rail 23.

To hold thepost 10 against tipping inwardl I extend its upper end 25 to the top o the door opening and arrange it to overlap the closing ledge 26 which I provide at the top of the opening and against which the upper ends of the several leaves 5, 6 and 7 close tightly. The post 10 is thus held against tipping out or in. It is held against twisting `or shiftingout of the true lparallel relation to the door opening bythe giide shoe and it is held in true vertical position in a plane parallel with the door opening by the hinging of the two leaves 5 and 6 together and to the jamb 2 and to the movable post 10.

As best shown in Figures 9 and 10 I prefpost 10 triangular in horizontal cross section and form it up out of sheet metal. This construction makes a very light and rigidl post and one to which the various fittings can be readily and c0nven iently attached. One flat side 27 of the triangular ost is arranged at the back and provides a at face to which the wheel bracket 16 at the bottom and the guide shoe 17 at the top can be bolted.

For convenience in bolting these members to the'post I provide inner reinforcement plates or bars 28 and 29 at the bottom and top of the post respectively, secured against the rear wall of the post by rivets 30 and provided with threaded holes for receiving tap belts 19 for securing said attachments. By means of this construction I am enabled to ship the posts in knocked-down condition and assemble them with the brackets before they are installed. The post is substantially equi-lateral triangular in' cross section and the two inclined sides 31 of the post extend at equal an les to the base. The edge of the leaf 6 w ich is hinged to the post lcloses against one of these inclined sides, and the adjacent edge of the leaf 7 closes against the opposite inclined side, these edges of the leaves being correspondingly inclined so as to form tight closures.

The hinges 11 have one leaf 32 in each case secured to the edge of the door leaf which it supports by screws 33 and the opposite leaf 34 scured to the adjacent wall of the post 10 by rivets 35. I preferably depress or form the walls 31 inwardlyas at 36 to make room for the leaves\.34 of the hin es 11 upon the outer surface of the post andg flush with same, so that the hinges will not interfere with a proper closing of the doors, the opposite leaves 32 of the hinges beingsunk into the'back edges of the doors flush with same.

I preferably form the two walls 31 of the post 10 of a single,piece or strip of sli/eet metal bent along a medial line to form the narrow front edge 37, and provided at their rearedges with outwardly turned longitudinal flanges 38. I form the rear wall v27 of a separate strip and bend its lateral edges 39 around to, embrace and enclose the anges 38, thus forming laterally extending longitudinal closure flanges 40 on the post against which the leaves 6 and 7 can tightly close, when in closed position as best shown in Figure 10.

To permit the leaves to close tightly at the top against the ledge26 I cut away the back plate 27 just short of the ledge 26, as best shown in lFigure 5, and I turn the flanges 38 inwardly at this'point, as best shown in Figure 9, to form a suitable'bearing surface on the post for contact with the ledge 26. At the bottom, to provide a weather lproof closure for the door, I provide a sill ledge 41, which, in the form shown in Figure 5 dro s down slightly below the inside floor leve 42, and I may provide this by means of 4an angle bar 43 anchored into the cement of which the floor 42 and the entranceway 44 is made. In any event, the led 41 denes the face of the opening to be c osed and in like manner to the construction at the top of the post I cut away' the back plate 27 and form the flanges 38 inwardly. The rail or track13 is secured directly to the door and in the form shown to the upper or door face,

of the angle bar 43, which forms an excellent foundation upon which to secure this rail. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 I provide two of the rails 13, one for each half of the door, and each projecting toward the middle of the door openmg far enough to carry the 'wheel 14 to its closin position. As best shown in Fi res 2 and 3, form the several leaves wit suitable overlapping closure strips 45 at their meeting edges so that when the doors are closed the several oints between the leaves will be substantialy weather proof. For convenience in manipulating the doors ll provide a handle i6 on each post 10, at, a sultable height, and by means of which the posts can be pulled along and the doors folded or opene. To hold the doors closed, ll provide suitable bolts 47 at the bottom, and similar boltsl at the top of the several sections, and ll provide the middle lleaf 7 which has the overlapping strip t with a suitable lock tor engagement with the opposite leaf 7. This opposite leaf is the one at themiddle of the opening which carries the bolts t7 and d8. As best shown in Figure 7, l do not necessarily make the posts 10 of sheet metal.

ln this instance ll have shown a solid wooden post 50, =T-shaped in cross-section instead of triangular, and havin the leaves yt3 and 7 hin ed to its dat sides y hinges 5l'. As willv be c ear from Figures 6 and hinges are not used, the leaves hung on the triangular posts can told closer together than those mounted on the wooden or T- shaped posts, but under certain conditions the wooden post structure can be made Y cheaper than the metal structure, otherwise the two posts tullill the same functions.

lln Figures lt and.l5 li have illustrated a tor olf my invention, in which the sections or leaves similar to the form shown in llligures l and 2, swing or told to the outside so as to malte a tight closure against the angle v bar sill il at the bottom, and aainst the closure ledge`26 at the top simiar to the manner ot swinging the sect-ions in the forms illustrated in Figures l and 2. ln this torni, however, instead of carrying the weight ot the post l0 and the sections hinged thereto upon a wheel rolling on the door, l carry the -weight upon the wheel 60 which ll attach to the u per end ot the post l0. For this purpose l provide a hooked hanger strap 6l, lts

lower end 62 formed to project around uriderneath the guide shoe i7, and to be secured to the horizontal part thereol by a rivet 63', and l provide an angle brace 6tlsecured at its upper end to the lower end 62 of the strap 6l, and its lower end secured to the post l0 by one ot the bolts l9 which secured the guide shoe. ll provide a horizontal supporting rail 64 bolted to the inner tace of the wall of the building above the opening l and ll form the strap 6l with hoolred upper end 65 and projecting above the rail 6d to properly receive the wheel 30 between the two sides of the upper end. ll malte the .lllshaped or hooked upper end of the strap 6l wide enough to embrace a @shaped support member 66, in the lower end ot which l mount the wheel 60 on a suitable bearing pin 67, the pin also projects through slots in the un of the hanger 6l. To hold the member tit in proper upright position within the when special incassa hooked end of the hanger tl ll provide a guide piu t8 on the member 66 which `enters a vertical slot 69 in the strap 61. For setting lthe wheel 60 in relation to the strap hanger @l to hold the post l0 and in consequence the door at the w height, l provide a set screw 7G, threa through a suitable hole in the top or the strap hanger, and adapted to contact with the upper end of the member 66. 'lhe wheel 60 is grooved and the track 6ft tits within the groove so as to properly retain the wheel on the traclr.

ll hold and guide the upper end ct the `post l0 in this instance in the manner already' described, in relation to the torna shown in Figures l. and 2. "l'o' retain the lower end against swinging out or in, ll arrange the lower end of theY post to contact with the sill, as heretofore described, and l( arrange a guide," member 7l, close to the edge 'of thedooropening on the door d2, and preferably secured on top of the angle bar t3, and ll provide a depending guide clip 72 secured to the lower rear face of the lower end et the post, and formed to engage the rear edge ofthe guide member 7l. ln this instance the post hangs freely from the pulley 60 at the top and the lower end is held from swinging in by contact with the led tl. and with the guide member 7l., and it is held against swinging out by the engament or the clip 72 with the rear edot the guide member 7l,

i ln Figures ll and l2 ll have illustrated a torni ot door adapted to Swing inwardly. lin this torni as shown ll have reversed the positions of the posts l0., turning their narrow edges inwardly instead of outwardly, and ll provide a raised sill 75 extending directly beneath the closed doors., and ll retain the posts 10 above same by extending the back plate 27 and the edge flanges t@ down to overlap thetront edge of the sill, and ll provide a clip 76 riveted to the rear or narrow edge oit the post 10 and extending down to engagel the rear edge ot the sill.A This sill is equal in width with the thickness of the door. To support the weight of the post and sections hinged thereto, ll provide a rail track 77 similar to the traclr @t and secured to the inner tace oit the wall abovethe door opening. ll preferably provide a trolley having two wheels 78 connectedby side straps 79 to ride on the traclr. l secure a U-shaped hanger 80 to the side straps 79 between the two wheels and bent inwardly at its lower end 81 to hang beneath the track 77. ln this lower end lt .hang a pivot bolt or pin 82 and connect this hanger pivot or rod to the post l0, by means ot a hanger plate 83 bent along its middle portion around the rod 82 and having its side edges riveted to the inclined sides of the upper end ot the post lin like manner to the securing ot the hinges ll to the metal 1 Sti lll@

Maaate parts 10, I depress the sidewalls of the post to provide space for receiving the connecting sides of the hanger plate 83 so that the adjacent edges of the doors will not need to be cut out for this purpose. The rod 82 extends down thru the eye thus formed, and I thread its lower end for a nut 84, by means of which I can readily adjust the hanging mechanism to support the weight and allow the doors to open and close freely. In this instance, I hold the post against twisting around by means of the guide shoe 17 and the guide rail 23' similar to the form already described.

In Figures 16 to 20 inclusive I have illustrated a form of my invention especially adapted for use as a easement or folding easement window. In this form the stresses are not so severe as in the formsy already described, and consequenty I can make the structure`much lighter. n these figures I have also illustrated the possibility of extending the openn and the hinged closures substantially indelignitely. In other words, as here illustrated, it will be clear that I am not limited to three leaves or sections,

K but that I can hinge as many sections as I desire together to properly fill a very wide opening. Furthermore, it should also be clear that while the showing made in Figures 1 and 2 is typical of' certain installations, that I am not limited to the idea of folding one half of the closure to one side and the other half to the vother side of the opening, for it might .be convenient under certain conditions to fold the whole closure to one ,side or to arrange the closure so that I am enabled to open .a relatively narrow opening at one side and to o [en a larger opening toward the other si e.

In Figures 16 to 2O inclusive I have shown a very wide opening 80 defined by side posts 81, a top mem er or lintel 82 and a sill member 83. For closing this very wide opening I have provided a series of pairs of leaves, 84 and'85. One edge of each leaf is hinged to' one of my movable posts 86, which is similar to the post 10 already described,`but may be made of wood overlaid by ve thin sheet metal of wood alone or of ho ow metal, as shown in Figure 17. These several pairs of leaves carried by the posts 86 occupy the middle portion of the opening .and I preferably .provide a single leaf 87 hinged to each side post and adapted to be opened independent y .of the` other leaves to afford a narrow openin at each end of the series. I may, as -in icated in Figure 17, hinge two or more of the pairs of leaves together, as shown at 88, so that the posts with their .connecting leaves, `will-sup.- port' each other and permit the convenient and'easy folding of several sections to bellow's form, as shownin dotted lines in Fig# ure 17. The middle leaves 89 similar to the end leaves 87 can be opened independently to afford a relatively narrow opening at the middle of the series as well as at the ends.

For retainin the several sections closed,

I provide suita le bolts 90 at the upper and lower ends, and suitable latch devices 91, at the meeting edges of the middle sections 89 and at the free edges of the end section or sections 87.

As best shown in Figures 18 and 19, I

Y provide an anti-friction roller or wheel- 92 rotatably mounted within the lower part of the post 86 adapted to roll on the flat upper surface of the window sill 93, and adapted to support the weight and permit the several sections to move easily to o en and close same. lTo hold the lower en of the ost against swinging in and out, I exten the lowerend 94 of the post below the top of thesill 93` and arrange it to contact against the sill ledge 95 with which the several window sections make weatherl ti ht joints. This contact holdslthe lower en of the post from swinging inwardly. To holdl it against swin ing out, and to guide it along the line o travel in Contact with the ledge 95, I provide a guide clip or plate\96 secured to the rear face of the post 86 and adapted to project below the surface of the sill 93 into a slot 97 extendin longitudinally of the'l sill and parallel wit the ledge 95. To hold the upper end 98 of the post 86 against swinging in and out and to hold the post against twisting around, I arrange its upper end to contact against the closing ledge 99, Figure 19, and against which ledge the several sections close tightly. I also provide a ide shoe 100 somewhat similar to the gui e shoe 17, in that it is secured rigidly to the back ofthe post at its upper end, and obviously may pro'ect to one side or the other or be arran e centrall In either case its length is eterinined y the thickness of the leaves hinged to the posts, and I arrange the extending ends of the guide shoes so that adjacent shoes will not interfere with each other, and 'thus prevent the complete opening of the windows, especially when myl invention 4is; applied to a easement window or folding partition. The guide 100 comprises a sheet .metal member rigidly secured upon the upper end of the rear portion of the. t, as' best shown in Figure 21, and provided with an upt-urned llongitudinal flan 1014 along its rear edge which is adaptee to enter a lon itudinal groove or slot 102 which I provi e in the to parallel with the window opening. To secure the guide member to the post I preferably provide an le brackets 103 secured to the under side o the member and to the side edges of the rear part vor' the post, as best shown in Figures 18 and 21, and I provide ofthe window frame and extending vthe guide 100 with an upturned Harige 100 v that the several sections will remain in any vdoor parallel with lthe door opening and opened or partly opened position, Without other fasteners. For this purpose, l eliminate the roller 92, and provide a slightly rounded substantially dat bearing shoe or lower end 10d on the post 86 adapted to' slide along on the sill 93, as best shown in Figures 2li and 25. lin this instance hold the lower end of the post against swinging in or out by the contact 'of the post against the closing led e 95 and by the guides 96, as described in re ationto Figure 19. ln this present form ll preferably provide a sheet metal construction of sill, as best shown in Figure 25. rl`his construction comprises a eet metal bar 105 formed to provide an upper dat vsurface 106 on which the shoe 104i slides and formed down at its rear 'edge to provide a groove10l', in'which the guide cli 96 engages. l preferably retain this guide bar 105 in place' by screws 108, which project through the bottom of the'groove 107 and hence do not interfere with 'the sliding ol the shoe 10d. ll' preferably bend the `troiit edge 109 rearwardly toform a firm bearing for the front part ot the bar where it rests upon the Wooden sill beneath.

. lln some applications et my intention, as,

for instance, in providing folding partitions for use between arts ot auditoriums or other rooms, it is esirable that the floor be obstructed lor mutilated to the least possible extent. lt is obvious vthat the general construction of the structure illustrated in Figures 16 and 17 is applicable to this use, except the particular arrangement at the bottoni.

As shown in Figures 22 and 23, l modify this bottom construction Where ll embody my invention'in partitions and the like, by making the door 110 without closing ledges, and preferably, though not necessarily, without a door'sill or threshold, though obviously a door sill or threshold could be used. lin this instance ll provide a longitudinally extending guide groove 111 Vin the adapted t0 receive the lower projecting end 112 ot a guide clip 113 secured to the back of the t 11d. For this construction. which is usually heavier than the easement window construction, ll preferably use the heb low steel post shown in Figure 22, but may use the construction described in relation to Figure 1. livmahe the back part 115 et the neonato post considerably thicker so as to provide space to receive and conceal the supporting wheel 116 at the bottoni of the post, and arranged .with its lower portion projecting below the lower end of the ost for Contact with the door 120, and su cient to permit the free swinging ot the door sections over the floor, as best shown in Figure 23. lt is so obvious that, vertical adjustment for the several forms shown in Figures 18 to 23 inclusive, similar to the adjustments already described for supporting thesash and doors fre-e to swing on their hinges, can be provided, that 1t is not thought necessary to further complicate the drawings with a. showing of this adjustment.

The rigid non-rotatable guide4 posts which ll provide enable me to provide closures which are easily operable, of any desired number of sections, and to make them swing either out or in, and in either case eliminates the necessityot providing tracks or supporting wheels upon the outer tace of the wall of thebuilding where they would be more or less eizposed to the weather.

ll claim: 1. lin a. door ot the kind described, a closure consisting of a plurality of leaves, foldable'A together to open the door, posts laterally movable in substantially the plane ot the opening to which alternate edges oi pairs of leaves arehinged, a guide rail at the top of the opening, and a guide rigid with each post extending laterally beyond the post` in one direction and having engagetoo ment with the rail at its free end to hold the post against rotation in both directions.

2. ln a folding .closure of the kind described, a plurality of leaves hinged together and adapted to fold in bellows form tot to uncover the opening, posts hinged' to the leaves at alternate joints and extending from the top to the bottom of, the opening, guides' at the top and bottom of the opening for iding the posts in such movement, lio an antiriction element carried by each post for sustaining the weight, a guide member atthe top of the opening and a guide shoe rigid with the post and extending laterally beyond the post in one direction into en- Illa gag-ement with said member for holding the post against rotation in both directions.

3. ln a folding closure of the lrind described, la post adapted to have swinging leaves attached thereto, for opening and 3120 closing the opening, said post arranged in vertical position and movable laterally with respect to said opening for folding and un folding said leaves, means holdin said post against tipping and an arm rigi with and 5125 extending later-ally` therefrom in one direction for holding the post a ainst rotation in both directions during suc movement.-

t. ln a folding door clo of the lrind described, a plurality of leaves hinged toloo mesme gether and adapted to be folded together to uncover the opening, posts movable laterally of the opening and extending from the top to the bottom thereof, means engaging the top and bottom of each post for guiding same in such movement, a guide shoe secured to the upper end ofthe post and extending laterally to one side beyond the post and a guide rail at the top of the opening adapted to be engaged by the shoe to hold the post against rotation in both directions.

5. In a multiple leaf door closure of the kind described, a vertical post, guided to move substantially in the plane of the door,

the post being of triangular cross section, the adjacent leaves hinged to the thin edge of the post and the thick edge of the post arranged substantially in the plane of the innerface of the closure as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a multiple leaf door closure of the kind described, a vertical post movable parallel with the door opening and to which leaves are hinged, the post adapted to lie substantially within the plane of the door and provided with a thin outer edge, and a thicker inner edge, the thin edge facilitating a close relation of the adjacent hinged edges of the leaves, as and for the purpose specified.

7. n a door of the kind described, posts movable longitudinally of the door opening, r

lea-ves hinged at one edge in pairs to the posts and hinged together at their other edges to open and close as the posts are moved, means at the bottom anda rail at the top of the opening for guiding the posts, and arms ri id with the upper ends of the posts extenfing in one direction laterally beyond the` posts into engagement with the rail to hold the adapted as the oor is opened to pass the next adjacent post so that the several posts with their arms can nest together.

In witness whereof, l hereunto subscribe my name this 12th day of April 1919.

FREDERICK G. WALKER,

osts against rotation, and y 

